At our meeting on August 2, Norm Megginson was the winner of the 50/50 drawing (image on left) after more than 1 year of drawings. Norm was the second person to draw a card last night after 222 numbers were entered into the drawing. Norm has redeemed himself after a drawing a couple of years back where he had only two cards left and drew the incorrect card. Congratulations, Norm as the comeback kid and winning the 50/50 drawing. The 50/50 pot was up to $1109 because of the generosity of our members and our uncanny ability to lose.
Giving Back in August
We have an opportunity to assist in the clean up once again of the downtown streets of Springfield on August 21 from 8 – 10 a.m. just prior to the Open Streets event. This is a chance for new members and longtime Rotarians to work together on a great service project. Bring your friends and family along to assist and please reach out to Vicki Megginson to add your name to the list.
Always Remember, Never Forget
At our August 2 meeting, we heard Eric Murray speak about the Gold Star Mission (image on right), which honors Illinois’s 300 fallen service men and women. This organization honors the fallen in hopes that they will not be forgotten. They host many events to raise money for scholarships to honor the fallen heroes and their families. The hope is that by honoring these heroes we will Always Remember and Never Forget. Eric graciously gave us permission to share the slide program that he presented. You can open it here as a pdf by clicking this link Gold Star Mission Presentation.
Kudos to Past President
At our August 2 meeting, I had the honor of presenting Dave Kromphardt with his well-deserved Club President's plaque and his Past President's pin and to thank him again for his leadership for the 2020-2021 Rotary Year (image on left).
Ryan Byers to Visit on August 16
Our own District Governor Ryan Byers will be visiting our club on August 16 as he continues his tour to visit every Rotary Club in District 6460. During his visit he will share his vision for the year and how it maps to our international president's vision of how we Serve to Change Lives. Let’s show him a warm welcome and be sure to bring your questions that you may have for him. It will be an evening to remember.
Join by video system, application or Skype for business Dial 1868593818@webex.com You can also dial 173.243.2.68 and enter your meeting number. From the Cisco internal network, dial *777* and the 9-digit meeting number. If you are the host, enter your PIN when prompted.
If you are a host, click here to view host information.
Now that we are back to full capacity, we will no longer announce the menu for dining at Maldaners Upstairs or for curbside pickup. The meal will be Chef's Choice as it was prior to the pandemic.
Please continue to make reservations for in-person meals so we can estimate our seating needs and for curbside meals so Maldaners knows you are coming. The deadline for reserving dinner for the August 9 meeting is Sunday, August 8 at 5:00 p.m. Meals are $15 each. Please use the following link to make your reservations for the meal for indoor dining or curbside pickup by clicking:
For curbside users, please place your meal tickets or cash in an envelope with your name and “for Sheila Mack” on the outside of the envelope and give it to the Maldaners staff member that gives you your food. They will get the envelopes to Sheila Mack. Curbside pickup is between 4:45 and 5:15 p.m. To pick up food, turn into the alley behind the building and pick up the food at the back door. It's easy to pick up your food an the food is delicious!
Save the date of October 30 at Southwind Park! It's the "Go the Extra Mile 5K" to say Thank You to the first responders in our community. Runners are invited to run in honor or memory of a nurse, doctor, EMT, police officer, or fireman, and recognize them as part of the event. Our new logo for the event (above and lead image for Newsletter) will help promote the event in our community and among prospective runners and walkers. The logo will decorate our commemorative Rotary gold event t-shirt!
We have many tasks to complete as we get ready for this run and additional ones on the morning of the event. The August 12 Newsletter will have the list of tasks that we need help with. Please consider joining the committee and volunteering to provide this service to our community.
The Central States Rotary Youth Exchange (CSRYE) has announced it will be accepting applications for students interested in going to school in a foreign country during School Year 2022-2023. Applications from interested students must be submitted no later than November 1, 2021. The Board of Directors for our Club has voted to sponsor both an Outbound and Inbound student for the school year. Sponsoring and hosting an exchange student is a rewarding experience. The image to the left shows the delightful Sabrina Paez, the last Inbound Exchange student that our club co-sponsored. As the Youth Exchange Officer for our club, I need the membership’s assistance for 2022-2023 Exchange Students.
First, we need a minimum of two families willing to host a foreign student, and both families must live within the same school district, and in Springfield, within the boundaries for the same school. We will not be considered for an Inbound Student until we have the first host family recruited. If you know of any family that would be interested in hosting a foreign exchange student, please let me know their contact information or have them contact me (bkemp1100@hotmail.com).
Second, if you know of any high school student, preferably a sophomore this coming school year, that you think would be interested in becoming an Outbound Student, also please let me know or have the family contact me at my email address so I can meet with the entire family to cover the requirements with them. Applicants can be between the ages of 15 and 18.5 years old, but must complete the program by the time they reach 18.5 years old.
I would appreciate any assistance you can provide in this effort. Additional information for a prospective student/family can be found at the Central States Rotary Youth Exchange website, www.csrye.org. Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
All Club members are invited to gather school supplies for Ridgely School children and bring them to our meetings on August 9 and 16, and they will be transported to Ridgely School. You may procure items for students based on the Ridgely School 2021-2022 Supplies list, which you can download from our website home page by clicking on the highlighted link in this sentence. The image on the left shows the shared and individual school supplies needed for a single kindergarten student based on this year's list. Lets help ensure that students have the tools and supplies they need to learn and have fun in school.
As begun last year by Tim Granzeau, members are also invited to make a cash donation, and supplies will be purchased from those proceeds. Teachers are asked what they need for the classrooms, and we fulfill that list based on the amount of cash donations. Checks should be made out the Springfield Rotary Foundation with Ridgely School Supplies written in the comment line. You may bring your check to our meeting or mail it to Springfield Rotary Foundation, P.O. Box 615, Springfield, IL 62705.
We are helping Ridgley Elementary School, our adopted school, through a number of club projects. We added a micro-pantry earlier, and member volunteers are helping stock it with healthful foods and other needed items. We will install one of the little libraries that we built next to this micro-pantry soon. Our club is looking out for these children and their families in many ways!
Volunteers to check and add food items to the micro-pantry at Ridgely School are needed for the first half of September and for both halves of October and November. Please consider taking a two week shift. You only need to visit once a week to verify that the pantry is well stocked and add items if needed.
Little Libraries
Barry reported that Garrett and Nicole Kinkelaar have picked up the Little Libraries that will be installed at Ridgely School and St. John's Breadline. The other two libraries will be installed soon at Enos School and one other location. We built these four Little Libraries with funding from our District Literacy grant (image to left). Thanks again to Garrett and Nicole for serving as the volunteer coordinators for the installation and stocking of the Little Libraries.
Help Clean Up Downtown Springfield
Please join us on August 21 from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. to help clean up Downtown Springfield (see Barry's message above). We had a great time last time we helped with a clean up in the Downtown.
Other Opportunities
Please collect and bring in School Supplies for Ridgely School, or consider writing a check for the purchase of supplies (see article above).
Please remember to sign up to help with preparations for or work at our Thank You5K event, which will be held live at Southwind Park on October 30 (see article above).
Don't forget to keep saving items for our RYLA Bags of Hope. Bags will be filled and distributed to the homeless this fall. These RYLA students are exceptional. Let's ensure that the bags are stuffed to the brim. As reported by Barry, we may request a District Club Grant in collaboration with other Springfield Clubs to expand this wonderful project.
Daily Bread volunteers are needed at Senior Services. Help deliver hot, nutritious meals to our seniors. Contact Autumn Osborne at 217 528-4035, ext. 123 to sign up for one-day per week, Monday-Thursday. 10:00 a.m.-noon.
Contact megginson.vicki@gmail.com to sign up for any of these great service opportunities.
We are thrilled to announce that we will have another Rotary Family Day at the Ballpark on October 3, 2021 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. We will watch the 2:15 p.m. game between our favorite rivals -- the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. It may or may not be for the pennant! We have reserved right field loge seating in sections 234-228. Your discounted price for the tickets is $55.00.
You can download the ticket order form from our Website Home page by clicking on the highlighted link. Order your tickets before they are all gone! Please share copies of the order form with your friends and colleagues. Please remember that proceeds from ticket sales support our District Literacy Grant Program. It's a Win for Literacy! Stay tuned for details on transportation to the game.
Do you know or are you someone who has a passion to give back to your community? The Rotarians in this image are helping pack essential items for the Illinois Police Department to give to homeless individuals in our community. As a Rotarian, you adhere to the principles of the 4-way Test., which are:
Is it the Truth?
Is it Fair to all concerned?
Will it build Good Will and Better Friendships?
Will it be Beneficial to all concerned?
If you find value in these ideals and want to be part of a great organization, right click on the attached link to open our Membership Application in a new window. You can also download a copy of the Membership Application from our Club's website Home Page (www.spirotary.org) in the Download Files section. You can send the completed application to the Membership Committee at illinoisdelta@hotmail.com. We look forward to hearing from you!
Please email images of service activities to Bonnie Styles at bonstyles@yahoo.com. It's easy to take pictures if you have a smartphone, but even an old style camera works just fine. Send me an email (bonstyles@yahoo.com) to let me know when you will be volunteering for a service project, and I will come out and take some images. The image on the right shows Tim Granzeau loading school supplies purchased for Ridgely School during last year's drive.
50/50 Drawing
At our August 2 meeting, we heard Eric Murray speak about the Gold Star Mission (image on right), which honors Illinois’s 300 fallen service men and women. This organization honors the fallen in hopes that they will not be forgotten. They host many events to raise money for scholarships to honor the fallen heroes and their families. The hope is that by honoring these heroes we will Always Remember and Never Forget. Eric graciously gave us permission to share the slide program that he presented. You can open it here as a pdf by clicking this link 
Kudos to Past President
Now that we are back to full capacity, we will no longer announce the menu for dining at Maldaners Upstairs or for curbside pickup. The meal will be Chef's Choice as it was prior to the pandemic.
For curbside users, please place your meal tickets or cash in an envelope with your name and “for Sheila Mack” on the outside of the envelope and give it to the Maldaners staff member that gives you your food. They will get the envelopes to Sheila Mack. Curbside pickup is between 4:45 and 5:15 p.m. To pick up food, turn into the alley behind the building and pick up the food at the back door. It's easy to pick up your food an the food is delicious!
The Central States Rotary Youth Exchange (CSRYE) has announced it will be accepting applications for students interested in going to school in a foreign country during School Year 2022-2023. Applications from interested students must be submitted no later than November 1, 2021. The Board of Directors for our Club has voted to sponsor both an Outbound and Inbound student for the school year. Sponsoring and hosting an exchange student is a rewarding experience. The image to the left shows the delightful Sabrina Paez, the last Inbound Exchange student that our club co-sponsored. As the Youth Exchange Officer for our club, I need the membership’s assistance for 2022-2023 Exchange Students.
All Club members are invited to gather school supplies for Ridgely School children and bring them to our meetings on August 9 and 16, and they will be transported to Ridgely School. You may procure items for students based on the 
Little Libraries
We are thrilled to announce that we will have another Rotary Family Day at the Ballpark on October 3, 2021 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. We will watch the 2:15 p.m. game between our favorite rivals -- the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs. It may or may not be for the pennant! We have reserved right field loge seating in sections 234-228. Your discounted price for the tickets is $55.00.
Please remember to report your service hours and related contributions. Just follow this link:
